Minor Income Tax: Clubbing, Section 64(1A) and When a Child Files an ITR

Does a Minor Need to File an ITR?

Yes, in some cases. A minor's passive income (bank interest, gifts invested, rent) is usually clubbed with a parent's income under Section 64(1A) and the parent reports it. But income the minor earns through skill, talent, or manual work is taxed in the minor's own hands, and a separate ITR must be filed by the guardian on the minor's behalf for AY 2026-27.

When a 14-year-old is bought at an IPL auction for over a crore, a fair question follows: who pays the tax, and who files the return? The young cricketer Vaibhav Suryavanshi, picked by Rajasthan Royals in the 2025 auction, is the most visible recent example of a minor earning real income. He is under 18, but his earnings come from his own skill, so the tax rules treat him very differently from a child whose only income is interest on a fixed deposit.

This guide explains when a minor's income is clubbed with a parent, when the minor needs a separate return, and the mistakes that cost families money at filing time.

A Minor Can Have Taxable Income

There is no minimum age to earn taxable income in India. A minor child can earn from:

• Interest on bank accounts, fixed deposits, and bonds held in the minor's name.
• Gifts received and then invested (the income on the investment, not the gift itself).
• Rent from property gifted to or inherited by the minor.
• Prize money, scholarships that are taxable, and winnings from competitions.
• Professional fees as a child artist, athlete, model, or content creator.

The Income Tax Act does not exempt a person from tax simply because they are below 18. What changes for a minor is who is taxed and who files the return.

Section 64(1A): When Income Is Clubbed With a Parent

Section 64(1A) is the default rule. The income of a minor child is added to (clubbed with) the income of the parent whose total income, before this addition, is higher. The parent then pays tax on the combined amount.

A few practical points:

1. Clubbing applies to most passive income: interest, dividends, rent, and capital gains on assets held in the minor's name.
2. If the parents are divorced or separated, the income is clubbed with the parent who maintains the child during the year.
3. Once a particular parent's income includes the minor's income, it generally continues with that parent in later years unless the Assessing Officer is satisfied a change is warranted.
4. When income is clubbed, a parent on the old tax regime can claim an exemption of Rs 1,500 per minor child (or the actual clubbed income, if lower) under Section 10(32). This exemption is not available under the new (default) regime under Section 115BAC.

So if your child's only income is Rs 4,000 of FD interest and you are on the old regime, you add Rs 4,000 to your income, claim Rs 1,500 under Section 10(32), and effectively pay tax on Rs 2,500. On the new regime you add the full Rs 4,000 with no Section 10(32) relief. Either way, no separate ITR is filed for the child in this case.

When the Minor Needs a Separate ITR

Section 64(1A) carves out clear exceptions. Income is not clubbed, and is instead taxed in the minor's own hands, when it arises from either limb of the proviso to Section 64(1A):

1. Manual work done by the minor.
2. Any activity involving the application of the minor's skill, talent, or specialised knowledge and experience.

A separate, distinct exception applies where the minor child is a person with a disability specified under Section 80U. In that case all income, including passive income, is assessed in the minor's own hands rather than clubbed.

This is exactly why a young professional cricketer, a child actor, a junior musician, or a teenage content creator is treated differently. Their match fees, acting income, performance fees, and creator earnings flow from their own skill, so the income belongs to them for tax purposes. A separate return is filed in the minor's name.

One caveat: only the skill or manual-work income itself escapes clubbing. If the minor invests that money and earns interest, dividends, or other passive return on it, that second-generation income is clubbed with the higher-earning parent under Section 64(1A).

Comparison

Clubbed With Parent vs Taxed in the Minor's Own Hands

Parameter	Clubbed (Section 64(1A))	Separate ITR (Skill / Talent / 80U)
Typical income	FD and savings interest, dividends, rent, gifts invested	Match fees, acting or performance income, prize money for skill, creator earnings
Who is taxed	Higher-earning parent	The minor
Who files the ITR	Parent, in own return	Guardian, in the minor's name
PAN used	Parent's PAN	Minor's own PAN
Section 10(32) Rs 1,500 relief	Available to parent on the old regime only	Not applicable
Basic exemption	Part of parent's slab	Minor gets own basic exemption

Takeaway: Match the income to the right column first. Skill or talent income is taxed in the minor's hands and needs its own ITR; clubbing rules do not apply to it.

A minor taxed in their own hands gets their own basic exemption. For AY 2026-27 under the new regime, income up to Rs 4,00,000 is below the basic exemption, and the Section 87A rebate keeps normal total income up to Rs 12,00,000 effectively tax-free (the rebate does not cover special-rate income such as capital gains, which is taxed separately). A high-earning minor like an IPL contracted player will still cross these limits and owe tax, so the return is not optional.

How a Minor Files an ITR

A minor cannot sign and file a return on their own. Under Section 160 read with Section 161, the parent or legal guardian acts as the representative assessee and files on the minor's behalf.

Step-by-Step Guide

Filing an ITR for a Minor With Skill or Talent Income

The practical sequence when a child's income is assessed in their own hands

1

Apply for the Minor's PAN

A minor can hold a PAN. The guardian applies using the minor's documents and the guardian's identity. All skill income, TDS, and the return are mapped to this PAN.

PAN

2

Register the Guardian as Representative

On the e-filing portal, the guardian registers as the representative assessee for the minor under Section 160, linking the minor's PAN to the guardian's login.

Portal

3

Reconcile AIS and Form 26AS

Download the minor's Annual Information Statement and Form 26AS. Check every entry: prize money, fees, interest, and the TDS deducted against the minor's PAN.

AIS

4

Pick the Correct ITR Form

Choose the form that matches the income type, for example ITR-1 for simple income or ITR-3 for professional or business income from skill-based work. The wrong form gets returns treated as defective.

Form

5

Compute, Pay, File and Verify

Compute tax under the applicable regime, pay any balance via challan, file the return, and e-verify within 30 days. The guardian signs as representative.

File

Source: Sections 64(1A), 160, 161, Income Tax Act 1961; income tax e-filing portal

Common ITR Filing Mistakes for Minors

The image keywords behind this guide flag three errors we see most often. They matter because a minor's return frequently involves TDS that only comes back as a refund if the return is filed correctly.

Wrong ITR Form

Families often default to ITR-1 because it is the simplest. But a child athlete or creator earning professional fees may have business or professional income that needs ITR-3 or ITR-4. Filing the wrong form can make the return defective under Section 139(9), and you then have to refile within the notice window. Match the form to the nature of the income, not to convenience.

Missing TDS Credits

When a payer deducts TDS, for example on contest winnings under Section 194B, on interest under Section 194A, or on professional fees under Section 194J, the credit sits against the minor's PAN. If you report the income in the parent's return by mistake, or skip the return entirely, that TDS is not claimed and the refund is lost. Skill income with TDS deducted in the minor's PAN almost always needs the minor's own return to recover the credit.

Ignoring the AIS

The Annual Information Statement is the income tax department's record of what third parties reported about the minor: bank interest, fees, winnings, and more. Filing without checking the AIS risks a mismatch notice later. Reconcile every AIS entry against your own records before you file, and flag anything that looks wrong through the portal feedback option.

What Happens When the Minor Turns 18

Clubbing under Section 64(1A) applies only while the child is a minor, and it stops on the date the child turns 18, not from the start of that financial year. In the year the child attains majority, the income is split: income up to the day before the 18th birthday still follows the minor clubbing rules, while income on and after that date is assessed in the now-major child's own hands. From the next year onward the child is assessed fully independently, files their own return, and signs it themselves. The year of turning 18 therefore needs careful date-wise splitting.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a minimum age to file an income tax return in India?

No. There is no minimum age. A minor can have taxable income, and a return is filed either by clubbing the income with a parent under Section 64(1A) or, for skill and talent income, separately in the minor's name through a guardian.

My child only earns FD interest. Do I file a separate ITR for the child?

Usually no. Passive income like FD interest is clubbed with the higher-earning parent under Section 64(1A). You add it to your income, and if you are on the old regime you can claim up to Rs 1,500 per child under Section 10(32) (this relief does not apply under the new regime). A separate return for the child is not required for this type of income.

A young cricketer or child actor earns fees. Whose income is it?

Income from the minor's own skill or talent is not clubbed. It is taxed in the minor's own hands, and a separate ITR is filed by the guardian using the minor's PAN. This is why a contracted teenage athlete needs their own return.

Can a minor have a PAN?

Yes. A minor can be allotted a PAN, applied for by the guardian. It is needed when the minor has skill-based income, when TDS is deducted in the minor's name, or when the minor must file a separate return.

Who signs a minor's income tax return?

The parent or legal guardian signs and files as the representative assessee under Sections 160 and 161. The minor does not sign the return.

What if TDS was deducted on my child's prize money?

If the TDS sits against the minor's PAN and the income is skill-based, file the minor's own return to claim the credit. Without the return, the TDS is not refunded even if no tax is finally due.

How Tax Garden Helps

Whether your child's income is clubbed or assessed separately is not always obvious, and getting it wrong means either a defective return or a lost refund. Tax Garden's compliance team reviews the source of every rupee of a minor's income, decides whether Section 64(1A) clubbing or the skill and talent exception applies, reconciles the AIS and Form 26AS, selects the correct ITR form, and files cleanly. For families with a young earner, we also set up the minor's PAN and the representative assessee registration so future filings are straightforward.

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This guide covers the taxation of a minor child's income under Section 64(1A) of the Income Tax Act 1961, the clubbing exceptions for manual work, skill and talent, and Section 80U disability, the Section 10(32) exemption of Rs 1,500 per minor child, and the representative assessee provisions of Sections 160 and 161. The basic exemption and Section 87A rebate figures reflect the new regime slabs for AY 2026-27 as amended by the Finance Act 2025. The reference to Vaibhav Suryavanshi is based on publicly reported facts of the IPL 2025 auction and is used only to illustrate skill-based minor income. Rules have been verified against the Income Tax Act text on incometax.gov.in and published analysis by ClearTax and Tax2win. Confirm the current position with your CA or tax advisor before filing.